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You are here: Home / How to Travel the World / How to Save Money on Flights with Skyscanner – But Should You?

How to Save Money on Flights with Skyscanner – But Should You?

Updated 06/02/2019 By Alyson Long. Any post on this site may contain affiliate links. If you use them, they cost you nothing extra. We make a small commission.

Of all the tools we used for finding bargains in the travel world, Skyscanner was number 1. Recently we saved ourselves £100 per person, £300 total, on our flight to Sri Lanka, just through using the Skyscanner tips we share here. Let’s take a look at how to use Skyscanner to scan flights and find the best bargains. We still prefer Skyscanner to new flight comparison tools, including Kiwi, it also often gives us cheaper prices than going direct to the airlines themselves but that comes with a warning, read on to discover how we were scammed by one of their 3rd party sellers. Still read the tips, use these skills to find the best routs, days and deals, but proceed with caution and find out what happened to us.

 

Tips for Using Skyscanner

Skyscanner Tips, Tricks and Hacks to Save Money On Flights

We all want to save money on flights, right?

Let me walk you through a few Skyscanner tips. Of course, you need to be flexible, if you need a direct flight on a certain day you can’t work the same magic, but Skyscanner.net  or Skyscanner UK ( .net is global, .co.uk is uk specific ) will still help you find the best price. Enter your departure airport and destination in the box, enter 2 dates. Start your search and below the search box you’ll see an important next step.  

 

You’ll Love Skyscanner Flexible Dates. Find the Cheapest Day to Fly

So, you’ve got Skyscanner open, first enter your departure airport in the FROM box. You don’t have to be specific, you can ask for any airport in London ( you can even do any airport in the UK), (catching a bus to Stanstead or Luton may be cheaper than paying for a Heathrow flight).

In the TO box you enter your destination.

BUT there is an extra hack you need to know about here, it’s further down the page.  

At the top of the page, highlighted in yellow, you’ll see ” show whole month”. You can now see exactly which day will be cheaper and best for you to fly.

Best Blog Read Now!   Cost of One Year of Travel: Cost Breakdown

Type in “Everywhere” as Your Destination

If, for example, you are long term travelers looking for a next destination or maybe you want to go somewhere for a weekend but don’t know where, you’ll love Skyscanner’s ” Everywhere” option. Instead of a fixed destination, just select “everywhere” from the drop down list.

Skyscanner will now work its magic and bring you a list of possible destinations, cheapest  place first. Each price will be the best they have available for that country.

This is how we ended up in El Salvador after Florida. We didn’t know where we wanted to go, so we just took the cheapest flight into Central America and from there took buses, we saved ourselves a fortune.

Choosing Your Best Dates for Travel

 In the DEPART box, click on the calendar image. A standard calendar appears with days for you to click, instead of selecting a particular date look a little lower down.

Under the calendar you will see something like this, WHOLE MONTH or WHOLE YEAR is what you need.

A search like this, once you’ve selected your desired destination and preferred airports ( based on price or your convenience), will give you a graph showing prices, day by day. Now you know which days are cheapest.

Not Ready to Book? Sign Up for Notifications

Select the flight and day you want and click the button to allow notifications on this flight.  

You can do this for multiple flights and destinations, I really like that they all come in 1 email instead of several.

Skyscanner will tell you if flight prices have increased or decreased.  You can watch and wait for prices to dip for as long as your nerve lasts. Around 3 months before departure is often the best time to book.

Exploring Alternate Routes

This is how we found a real saving on those Sri Lanka flights. The cost was looking too high so we explored alternate routes.

First find which routes OUT of your destination are cheapest. Enter your destination as your departure point and select “everywhere” as your destination as mentioned above. Your Skyscanner list will tell you which countries are cheapest to fly TO, it’s a pretty safe bet they’ll also be cheapest to fly FROM.

Best Blog Read Now!   What Are Small Group Adventure Holidays Like?

Search again FROM that country and check your incoming flight cost TO that country.A pen and paper helps me out with this part.  The sum of a flight to Turkey and the flight from Turkey to Sri Lanka was, in our case £100 less.

For the 3 of us that’s a saving of £300, $470 US with the added bonus of a few days in Turkey.

Result!

I think that’s all you need to know to start making big savings on flights. We swore by Skyscanner, it was probably our favourite money-saving tool. If you follow our how to use Skyscanner tips and tricks you’ll save money on travel too.

If you need any further help with using Skyscaner, drop me an email and I’ll do my best.

Is it Cheaper to Book Through Skyscanner or Direct with the Airlines Themselves?

This varies. Sometimes Skyscanner has by far the best deals, sometimes booking direct with the airline can give you the best deal. Our best tip is to follow all of the tips on this page to find your best day, price, airline and route and then double check your price against the airline’s price. Etihad ( check here) have given us better prices than Sykscanner recently, and also Wizz Air, Fly Dubai and Air Asia. Even if you end up booking direct with the airline, Skyscanner can still be a great research tool.

Should You Book with Skyscanner or Direct With the Airline? – The Scam

We are currently about $3000 out of pocket after booking flights via Skyscanner with a third party seat booking  company, Go To Gate.

We turned up at the airport to discover our seats didn’t exist. We lost our original booking money and were forced to book new tickets, on the spot, at well over double the price. Don’t let this happen to you.

Best Blog Read Now!   Fast Travel and Slow Travel

Go to Gate haven’t refunded a cent and our claim is taking months to process under consumer protection laws.

I’d strongly recommend you avoid Go to Gate, there are many social media channels bearing such titles as ” Go to Gate is a Scam”. Book direct with the airline or just be cautious of who you book with via Skyscanner.

Buy Direct with Airlines Here-

  • Etihad ( check here) 
  •  Fly Dubai

Using Skyscanner to Find the Best Deal on Car Hire or Rental

Yes, Skyscanner can also find you a great deal on car hire. Exactly the same principles apply. 

We hope you’ve found our tips on using Skyscanner to find the best value flights useful. If you’d like more help with planning an extended trip, using flight prices from Skyscanner to determine destination and date, we have a post on planning a big trip. If your ambitions are bigger and you’d like to travel the world as we do, full time, we have our series on how to travel the world. Want to see our favourite low cost places to stay in Southeast Asia? See here . Skyscanner do also have a hotel booking page along with their car rental comparison facility ( above).  Best of luck with your travels and bargain hunting!

 

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About Alyson Long

Alyson Long is the creator of World Travel Family travel blog and is a full-time blogger and travel writer. A lifetime of wanderlust and now over 5 years on the road, has made her a travel expert. She is lover of mountains, cultures and ancient civilisations. Fanatical mum obsessed with her kids' education and happiness. Family travel, travel with kids, adventure travel, homeschooling and worldschooling enthusiast. Former medical scientist, now published writer, SEO ninja and webmaster. Like many travel bloggers, a happy nomad so long as there is coffee.

Comments

  1. Places To Visit In Dubai says

    03/01/2019 at

    I am stunned after checking rates on Skyscanner website…really I never thought that finding cheapest flight tickets is that easy.

    Reply
  2. Leeroy says

    24/06/2017 at

    I’ve also used skyscanner to save money, and I’d also like to say that I found a website called wander – which allows me to search for travel destinations that fits my budget, which is also a great deal of help.

    Reply
  3. mustafiz says

    01/05/2017 at

    this is one of the great post about how to save money on flight scanner. I am totally agree with your great idea. because we are very struggling in saving our money so this article was very effective and helpful to us. thanks for sharing this amazing article.

    Reply
  4. daz johns says

    24/01/2017 at

    hi there, loved your skyscanner tips as it is a great tool to use. one thing i was wondering that you might be able to help me with is if you book a flight when you are in another country , say nepal, can you still buy the tickets through the uk websites or does it ‘re-direct’ you to a local agency that might not have the same protection as uk laws allow. the reson for this is because i will buy some flights upfront but to stay flexible i will book flights on the move in asia but am worried this will not work abroad. keep up the good work on the blog, very informative.

    Reply
    • alyson@worldtravelfamily says

      24/01/2017 at

      I don’t think there is any ” advantage” in using the UK website. Skyscanner directs you to the airline’s website to book, you don’t actually book through the Skyscanner site. Prices are lower if the internet “sees” you as being in a less affluent country ( ie, it will default to the country of booking/ departure) so you may get an even better deal.

      Reply
  5. Aimee says

    23/01/2017 at

    Hi
    I am currently trying to convince my husband to travel for a year 🙂 we have a freehold home and though we could put a small mortgage on it to pay for trip and rent it out. I see you traveled with your children and we would do the same ours are 5yrs and 16yrs both girls….. how do your children get on with schooling? and living in small spaces?
    At the moment my husband doesn’t think we are that kind of people who could to this! but who are and helpful hints to help me convince him we are that kind of people?

    Aimee

    Reply
    • alyson@worldtravelfamily says

      23/01/2017 at

      Hi Aimee, we’ve been travelling with our children for almost 4 years now and it’s still going great! Living in small scapes, we actually prefer, our old house in Australia was vast, now we feel more connected as a family, nobody can disappear off. But with a 16 year old…I don’t know! My eldest is now 12, we’re about to hit the teens, so far so good, he’s a sweetheart. Schooling, well maybe start reading here, homeschooling or worldschooling is actually my speciality, you’ll find a homeschooling and travelling heading at the top of the page, or try this one http://worldtravelfamily.com/ultimate-worldschooling-ideas-tips-destinations-resources/ . Good luck and I can’t recommend taking off round the world with your kids highly enough.

      Reply
  6. Samantha says

    09/06/2016 at

    Such a great article thanks! Wondered how it worked that all these travel bloggers got cheap deals. Now because of u I know to use whole month/year button and also select “everywhere”. Great tips thanks. Loving your blogs and tips. We family with 2 homeschooled boys travelling part time at the moment.

    Reply
    • alyson@worldtravelfamily says

      09/06/2016 at

      Hi Samantha! Thanks and good luck. If you need any more help get in touch.

      Reply
  7. Silvana King says

    23/11/2015 at

    Hi! I was looking for this post! One question I have, Is the cheapest month option the same as the whole year option? I can’t seem to find whole year. Thank you!

    Reply
  8. Vidya says

    20/09/2015 at

    thank you thank you thank you soooooooo much!

    Reply
    • alyson@worldtravelfamily says

      20/09/2015 at

      No worries Vidya, hope you find some bargain skyscanner flights!

      Reply
  9. Lindsay - FamTravel (@carpediemourway) says

    11/06/2015 at

    wish i was in the UK so i could give you my commission!

    Reply
  10. Eva Angel says

    27/05/2015 at

    wonderful help.i love travel .so it will be great and flexible for me .thanks Alyson…….

    Reply
  11. All Graduates | French Translation Service says

    06/04/2015 at

    This is a wonderful app to help a traveler save up for the road. There are just so many options for flights, it’s so overwhelming at times! Notifications are great, no need to constantly just look into the app daily for a wonderful schedule. Thanks for sharing this, it will certainly help make booking flights easier and much more manageable!

    Reply
  12. Amy (The Wandering Mum) says

    28/03/2015 at

    I have lost many an afternoon playing on Skyscanner and Kayak looking at where I can fly to for what bargain price 🙂 Thanks for the post, I did pick up a couple of tips I wasnt aware of.

    Reply
    • alyson@worldtravelfamily says

      29/03/2015 at

      Me too Amy, I love that “Where can we go?” thing. Bt not on the road, life gets too full of real plans for daydreaming.

      Reply
  13. Katie says

    25/02/2015 at

    This is BRILLIANT! I use sky scanner all the time and never knew about this. Saves a fortune and also makes you consider places you might not otherwise! Genius! Any similarly fabulous tips for then finding accommodation?

    Reply
  14. Laura says

    20/02/2015 at

    So do you guys take part in any sort of rewards programs or do you fly with different companies each time, depending on which is cheapest? I’m planning our first out of U.S. vacation and not sure where to start! Thanks!

    Reply
    • alyson@worldtravelfamily says

      20/02/2015 at

      We never use rewards systems, we don’t find them any use at all, although we are registered with them all, just in case we are eligible for something, someday.

      Reply
  15. Maggie says

    07/02/2015 at

    This is awesome. I’ve never heard of it!

    Reply
  16. Diane says

    13/12/2014 at

    I’m an American expat in France and always on the lookout for cheap flights. I usually use French comparison sites but going to bookmark Skyscanner and your tips. Never hurts to look 😉

    Reply
  17. Jaklien says

    11/12/2014 at

    I love skyscanner. Another good one is kayak. Great way to compare flights.

    Reply
  18. Els says

    30/11/2014 at

    I use Skyscanner frequently, but didn’t know about the “everywhere” option! That’s great!!! Thanks for the tips!!

    Reply
  19. Gina - Our Global Adventure says

    27/11/2014 at

    Great tips! This is our favourite site for checking out great deals as well, it’s perfect for travelers who can be flexible with their departure date and travel route 😉

    Reply
  20. Caroline says

    26/11/2014 at

    Worked great for our traveling family. .and the college kids get to make short holidays special treats and stay in budget 🙂
    So who’s not flying? ???….And yes, along for the next journey…

    Reply
  21. Michelle says

    26/11/2014 at

    These tips are brilliant – thank you!

    Reply
  22. kate says

    25/11/2014 at

    I have used this before without much luck but I didn’t know the “everywhere” button. I LOVE this option. Of course this is “expensive” as now I want to travel next week:) Thanks for sharing and I will remember to go thru your site.

    Reply
  23. Thursday Took says

    25/11/2014 at

    Been playing around with Skyscanner this afternoon, but that’s the bit I was missing: the “exploring alternate routes” methodology. Thanks so much!!

    Reply

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